Who Needs to Be a Kid to Enjoy a Toy Store?

In Vegas we visited FAO Schwartz in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace (and then dined at the Cheesecake Factory for my third time that week...oh! All that scrumptious food!).

My mom is truly just a big kid at heart, and I wish I had taken more photos (or, actually, a video) of her in that store. Here are some highlights of that grandiose store.

My mom with her new monkey friend. Sam playing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" on the enormous keyboard. Sam in the mirror-boxed room. More photos on this blog here (thanks Laura).


This photo is of me and Sam trying not to breathe in the smoke-filled air as we waited for our valet car to come back. I can't tell you how sick I was of smokey air by the time my conference was over. It was nice to spend the rest of the weekend at Laura's house in the suburbs and away from the filthy strip. Ick.

Hair Play

While visiting family in Vegas, Sam starting twisting my hair. What started as this:Turned into this (with the help of my cousins): It took a couple of hours to twist it all up, but surprisingly not very long to un-twist it. This is probably as close to a "fro" as I'll ever get.

Why Just Any Name Doesn't Work

My mom forwarded me an article about real names given to real people in Britain (and a few in the U.S.).

Check it out here.

Honestly, names like Stan Still, Rose Bush, Hazel Nutt, Paige Turner, Anna Sasin, Bill Board, should never exist. Sure they make us laugh, but those poor individuals who have to deal with it every time they introduce themselves and become the butt-end of yet another person's joke (who thinks, of course, they are the only person who has ever noticed the humor in their name).

And then there are names like John Johnson, Peter Peterson, Sandra Sands, Harris Harrison.

I think I would forever go by my middle name or change my name if any of those names belonged to me.

Hoover Dam

Over President's Day weekend, Sam and I were in Vegas visiting my cousin Laura and her family. We took a trip out to Hoover Dam and forgot our camera. But thankfully Russell had his and took some of us.
The Dam Tours were closed because the elevators were not properly working. But we were still able to see the dam and watch movies about how it was made. It's pretty amazing.
Random fact: about 97 lives were taken while constructing it.

Big fish in a little pond

Last week I was phone interviewed by the local newspaper, the Uintah Basin Standard, and they featured me this week as one of the "professional" musicians performing with the local Roosevelt Pops Symphony. I was excited about the interview but also hesitant because I know how newspapers can spin stories. During and after the interview I felt unintelligent, unprepared, and even a bit stupid. Sometimes I just want to scream: 'I'm really not as good as you think.' But the people in the Basin view me as a "resident trombone player," or the profesional in the field, and truthfully I am the professional for the area, I'm just not sure if I like it or not. The article is as follows:

Jewkes set to perform with Pops Symphony - by ViAnn Prestwich

The Roosevelt Pops Symphony will seat more than 50 musicians for the March 7 concert to be held at 7 p.m. in the Roosevelt Junior High School auditorium. One of those performers will be Sam Jewkes, a trombone player who has spent the past two years at the University of Northern Colorado earning a master's degree in that particular instrument.

"He is an amazing talent," said symphony director Steve Puro. "He has come here with so much experience; it is wonderful and humbling to direct him and the other professionals that are in our group."

Jewkes himself is humble about his contribution to the upcoming performance. "It's different playing here, with this group," said the young man who only left the university in December. Performing with the Roosevelt Pops - which has participants ranging from eighth-grade students to 80-year-old musicians - is not the same as working with higher education students who are all focused on music.

"I essentially only have to worry about myself and play my part up to par and everyone else does the same," Jewkes said, describing rehearsals with his academic peers. Playing in the Roosevelt Pops Symphony, which was re-established just three years ago, is a different kind of experience for the talented musician.

"When I play with the younger kids I need to worry a little about them," Jewkes said. "I usually try to be nice about my suggestions and not tell them what to do. I say, 'How about trying this,' or 'This works for me.'"

Not only does the Taylorsville native play with the symphony, but he has also performed with the high school band and has agreed to judge the solo ensembles later this month.

Jewkes received his bachelor's degree in music education from Utah State University. He decided to continue his study of the trombone by going to Colorado. "I think that certain people have niches," Jewkes mused, "and music has definitely been my niche in life. This is a way to express myself and feel comfortable expressing myself."

Jewkes is married to Melanie Jewkes, who works for Utah State University Extension as the family and consumer science agent for Duchesne County. "We like the Basin," the musician said. "We enjoy the people a lot. I offered to teach in Duchesne, but the school board didn't finance that position."

Still undecided about his future employment, Jewkes is keeping his trombone skills alive. Plan to hear him and the other musicians in their spring performance.

This picture was included with the following caption: Sam Jewkes plays his trombone in Stillwater Canyon. Jewkes will perform as a member of the Roosevelt Pops Symphony on March 7.

Overall I was pleased with the article, I wish they would have included one more quote from me involving playing with the less-talented musicians, I said that it is different, but still fun--I'm still making music.

Lunch at the office

Since Melanie is in Vegas this week I have stayed at the office to eat lunch, instead of returning home to eat with her. Yesterday a few of my co-workers noticed my lunch on the table and made some interesting comments:

"All you're going to eat is vegetables?"

"Where's the chocolate?"

"Hey, look what Sam's having for lunch."

"That's what you're having for lunch?"

Yes, I am having an assortment of vegetables (carrots, radishes, brocoli, and cauliflower) along with some fruit (banana, apple, and some dried apricots) and yes, I do have a chocolate covered granola bar.

I am eating healthy and my co-workers give me a hard time. Shouldn't they do the opposite? Shouldn't they see the value in a balanced healthy diet and encourage such behavior? Yes, they should, but instead they encourage the opposite and think that I am strange to choose such a diet.

5 Months Down

Yesterday was my 5-Month mark (and today I am 23 weeks).

Here's a look at what I was at 19 1/2 weeks:




















And now here I am at 5 months (23 weeks):




















As Sam took the photos, I asked, "Do I look pregnant?"
He said, "No, just a little thicker."

Indeed, I am a little "thicker." :)

25 Random Things About Me

I was tagged on Facebook (3 times) for this, and thought it made a good blogpost, too.

1. I prefer cold, snowy winters to hot summers.

2. I have 17 nieces and nephews (and one of each on the way).

3. I am making my own recipe book.

4. I have never been sick for more than one day (other than colds/coughs; except when I was 6 months old and had a bad allergic reaction to penicillin).

5. I have only broken one bone and only had stitches once--in the same place, but 2 separate times and circumstances (my mom just corrected me--I also had stitches on my face when I was really little...like 2 years old--I forgot about that, obviously).

6. I have never been down-hill skiing, even though I have lived in Utah my whole life.

7. I own a snowboard, but haven't hit the slopes for over 5 years.

8. I walk to work, to church, to the post office, and to the grocery store.

9. I believe that many dreams have meaning, but I have a LOT of random, meaningless dreams.

10. I love mac & cheese--from the box or homemade or from restaurants--whatever--I love it.

11. I prefer grilled cheese sandwiches (on wheat bread) to quesadillas.

12. I know more Spanish than I often give myself credit for.

13. I don't like the color pink. If I had a baby girl, she'd be in purple, blue, red, green, yellow, aqua--anything but pink (except my mom loves pink, and grandmas tend to buy lots of cute outfits for their grandbabies, so I'd probably have little say in the matter).

14. I want to become a millionaire, and truly believe that I can.

15. I haven't purchased white all-purpose flour in over a year and a half.

16. I grind my own whole wheat flour and use in place of all-purpose flour.

17. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day.

18. I love spicy foods (even now while I'm pregnant).

19. I have a hard time eating at Subway, because I ate there in the Indianapolis Airport after washing my hands with the most disgusting smelling soap in the whole world. Subway sandwiches still smell like that soap to me. Yuck!

20. I am more of a morning person than a night owl.

21. I use a credit card almost always, but always pay it off in full each month.

22. I have a couple of items in my closet that I've been wearing since I was in 9th grade (that was about 9 years ago...wow).

23. If I had had bridesmaids at my wedding, I wouldn't have been able to narrow my friends/sisters/nieces down smaller than 10-12...so I opted for none.

24. I have become addicted to de-junking and getting rid of "stuff," since I've moved 6 times in 5 years.

25. If I ever went back to school, I'd study in the field of Nutri-Genetics, and not continue in a higher degree of what I already have.

So Good, It Deserves a Second Post

I've posted this before. But this time I have a photo.

Despite being out-of-season, our local grocery store yesterday had tomatoes for $0.69 per pound (and avocados on sale, too). So I quickly gathered all the other fresh ingredients--cilantro, jalapenos, & red onion--and was giddy with excitement to head home and eat this yummy-ness.

Thankfully, baby boy doesn't mind super-flavorful foods, such as this black bean and corn salsa. I ate to my hearts desire last night.

I can't wait for lunch today.